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Thea Hail

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Thea Hail
Birth nameMadison Knisely[1]
Born (2003-09-09) September 9, 2003 (age 21)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Thea Hail[2]
Nikita Knight[3]
Billed height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)[4]
Billed weight125 lb (57 kg)[4]
Trained byBrandon K[5]
WWE Performance Center[1]
Debut2021[5]

Madison Knisely (born September 9, 2003) is an American professional wrestler and gymnast. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Thea Hail and is a member of Chase University.

Early life

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Maddie Knisley was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She went to school at Pivik Elementary School, in Plum Borough, Pennsylvania and studied gymnastics at a gymkhana in Monroeville.[6]

Professional wrestling career

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All Elite Wrestling (2021)

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On September 28, 2021, Knisley made her All Elite Wrestling debut as enhancement talent on Dark under the ring name Nikita Knight against Thunder Rosa.[7] She wrestled in one other match with the promotion against Julia Hart, on the October 24, 2021 edition of Dark, which she lost.[8]

WWE (2022–present)

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Main article: Chase University

On March 17, 2022, Knisley was announced as one of the 14 recruits who reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[1] One month later, on the April 8 episode of NXT Level Up, she made her in-ring debut under the ring name Thea Hail against Ivy Nile, which she lost.[3][9] During the May 31 episode of NXT 2.0, a vignette aired showing Hail graduating with a 4.0 GPA, and tossing away major university hats. She instead picked and donned a Chase University hat, officially aligning herself with the group for the first time.[10] On the June 17 episode of Level Up, Hail, with Duke Hudson and Bodhi Hayward accompanying her ringside, picked up her first victory, over Arianna Grace.[11] On the October 11 episode of NXT, Hail competed in her first match on the NXT brand against Kiana James. During the match, James' manager Mr. Stone interfered and cut a promo, which seen Hail hit him with a back body drop and stomp him out of the ring. James used Stone's distraction to her advantage, picking up the victory with a flatliner.[12]

On the February 7, 2023, episode of NXT, Hail confronted Tiffany Stratton over a TikTok video which Stratton uploaded and she took issue with. After the incident, Ava appeared behind Hail, cupped her hand over mouth, then dragged her away.[13] Two weeks later, on February 21, Chase and Hudson defended Hail's honor, by facing The Dyad, who had Ava by their side. Hail was chased around the ring by Ava, which led to Chase arguing with her, while Fowler and Reid hit Hudson with the double codebreaker, ultimately costing Chase University the match.[14] On April 1, on the Stand and Deliver Kickoff pre-show, Hail, Duke Hudson, Andre Chase, and Tyler Bate defeated Schism in an eight-person mixed tag team match to successfully retain control of Chase University.[15] On the June 6 episode of NXT, Hail won a battle royal to become the number one contender for Stratton's NXT Women's Championship.[16] The match took place at Week Two of Gold Rush on June 27. Hail was unsuccessful in winning.[17] She challenged Stratton once again on July 30 at The Great American Bash in a submission match, but lost while being held in a boston crab, as Chase threw in the towel on her behalf.[18] In response, on the following week's episode of NXT on August 2, Hail threw in the towel during Chase's match against Baron Corbin while he was being held in a single-leg crab, though Corbin thrown it back out and won by pinfall.[19]

On the August 15 episode of NXT, Hail lost to Jacy Jayne due to distraction from her stablemates.[20] The following week at Heatwave, Jayne approached Hail backstage, empathising with her over Chase costing her the championship, turning face in the process.[21] On August 29, Hail ditched class at Chase University in order to spend time with Jayne instead.[22] On the following week, Jayne represented Chase University with Hail for the first time, defeating Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez in a tag team match.[23] At Week 2 of Halloween Havoc on October 31, Hail and Jayne challenged WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven for the titles though they were unsuccessful as Chase refused to help Jayne cheat to win.[24]

On the January 30, 2024, episode of NXT, as Chase, Hudson and Riley Osborne were about to bid farewell to Chase U due to financial troubles, Hail and Jayne announced they would be releasing a calendar to help save it.[25] Following Chase and Hudson's defeat to Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin in the NXT Tag Team Championship match at Roadblock on March 5, Jacy Jayne and new Chase U student Jazmyn Nyx mocked Hail, resulting in her storming off.[26] On the March 12 episode of NXT, Hail and Fallon Henley lost a tag team match after Jayne refused to be her partner the previous week. An emotional Hail disavowed her friendship with Jayne and declared she was returning to the "old Thea Hail". On the following week of NXT, Jayne (with Nyx) turned on Chase U.[27] At Stand & Deliver on April 6, Hail teamed up with Henley and Kelani Jordan to defeat Jayne, Kiana James and Izzi Dame in a six-woman tag team match.[28] On the following episode of NXT, Jayne revealed the truth of Chase U's gambling debt. In Hail's NXT Women's Championship match at The Great American Bash, Chase placed an illegal bet that Hail would win the title. However, he chose Hail's safety and threw in the towel, resulting in him losing the bet.[29] On the April 16 episode of NXT, Hail lost to Tatum Paxley after interference from Jayne and Nyx. Following this, a match was scheduled between Hail and Jayne for Week 2 of Spring Breakin', which Hail won. However, a dissatisfied Henley turned heel and attacked Hail as she was celebrating.[30][31][32] On the May 21 episode of NXT, Henley defeated Hail to qualify for a spot for the six-woman ladder match to crown the inaugural NXT Women's North American Champion at Battleground.[33]

Other media

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Video games

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Thea Hail in video games
Year Title Notes Ref.
2024 WWE 2K24 Video game debut [34]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c WWE Staff (March 17, 2022). "WWE welcomes newest class of recruits to the WWE Performance Center". WWE. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Thea Hail". WWE. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Currier, Joseph (April 7, 2022). "Three debuts set for WWE NXT Level Up". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Thea Hail". Pro Wrestlers Database. Smackdown Hotel. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Thea Hail: Profile". Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Zapf, Karen (November 28, 2012). "Plum student inspired by meeting with Olympic gymnasts". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Howard, Ryan (September 28, 2021). "9/28 AEW DARK TV REPORT: Ricky Starks vs. Darius Lockhart, Thunder Rosa vs. Nikita Knight, Hogan vs. Grey, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (November 30, 2021). "AEW Dark Live Stream And Results (11/30): Adam Cole, Anthony Greene, Tony Nese, And More In Action". Fightful. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Chik, John (April 7, 2022). "NXT Level Up results: Chase and Hayward take down Donovan and Lauren". WWE. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Hazelwood, Bruce Lee (May 31, 2022). "5/31 NXT 2.0 REPORT: Hazelwood's live report on PLE go-home with women's championship summit, Grimes vs. Frazer, Jade vs. Lopez, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  11. ^ Chik, John (June 16, 2022). "NXT Level Up results: Nile takes down Lopez in heated slugfest". WWE. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  12. ^ Pulido, Luis (October 11, 2023). "WWE NXT Results (10/11/2022): Bron Breakker Competes, Axiom vs Frazier 3, Alba Fyre In Action". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  13. ^ Wells, Kelly (February 7, 2023). "2/7 NXT REPORT: Wells's live report on Bayley hosting Toxic Attraction, Carmelo Hayes follows up on his big win, Sol Ruca vs. Zoey Stark, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Pulido, Luis (February 21, 2023). "WWE NXT (2/21/2023) Results: Bron Breakker vs Jinder Mahal, Alba Fyre, Ilja Dragunov & More Compete". Fightful. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Pulido, Luis (April 1, 2023). "NXT Stand & Deliver (4/1/2023) Results: Bron Breakker vs Carmelo Hayes, Dragon Lee & More Compete". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Thompson, Andrew (June 6, 2023). "Thea Hail wins #1 contenders Battle Royal on WWE NXT, Cavinder Twins celebrate with her". POST Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  17. ^ WWE.com Staff (June 27, 2023). "NXT Gold Rush Week Two results, June 27, 2023". WWE. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Aiken, Chris (July 30, 2023). "WWE NXT Great American Bash live results: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Tessier, Colin (August 2, 2023). "Ilja Dragunov Aims To Terminate Trick Williams, Vice and Lopez Beat Feroz And Leon". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  20. ^ Wells, Kelly (August 15, 2023). "NXT TV RESULTS (8/15): Wells's live report on Wes Lee vs. Dijak #1 contender's match, Tony D'Angelo & Stacks vs. The Dyad, Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  21. ^ Moore, John (August 22, 2023). "NXT TV results (8/22): Moore's review of Heatwave with Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee for the NXT Title, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria, Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Tessier, Colin (August 30, 2023). "Thea Hail Misses Class, Bron Breakker Confronts Baron Corbin, Dijak Beats Thorpe". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "WWE NXT results, Oct. 3, 2023: "Dirty" Dom recaptures the North American Title thanks to The Judgment Day". WWE. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  24. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 31, 2023). "Halloween Havoc Week Two results, October 31, 2023". WWE. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  25. ^ Pulido, Luis (January 30, 2024). "WWE NXT (1/30/2024) Results: Trick Melo Gang vs LWO, Chase U Says Goodbye, Roxanne Perez, More Set". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  26. ^ WWE.com Staff (March 5, 2024). "NXT Roadblock 2024 results". WWE. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  27. ^ Moore, John (March 19, 2024). "NXT TV results (3/19): Moore's review of Trick Williams vs. Noam Dar, Riley Osborne challenging for the NXT Heritage Cup, Roxanne Perez vs. Tatum Paxley, NXT Tag Team Title match qualifiers for Stand & Deliver". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  28. ^ Powell, Jason (April 6, 2024). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT Title, Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  29. ^ Moore, John (April 9, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/9): Moore's review of the Stand & Deliver fallout show, Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer for the NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  30. ^ Moore, John (April 16, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/16): Moore's review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams in a steel cage match, Ridge Holland vs. Joaquin Wilde, Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice, Noam Dar vs. Dijak". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Moore, John (April 30, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/30): Moore's review of Spring Breakin' Night Two with Oba Femi vs. Ivar for the NXT North American Title, Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. AOP for the NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  32. ^ Tessier, Colin (May 1, 2024). "Fallon Henley Turns On Thea Hail On 4/30 WWE NXT". WrestleZone via Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  33. ^ Moore, John (May 21, 2024). "NXT TV results (5/21): Moore's review of Joe Coffey vs. Wes Lee vs. Josh Briggs for a shot at the NXT NA Title, Thea Hail vs. Fallon Henley, and Brinley Reece vs. Jaida Parker in NXT Women's NA Title qualifiers". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  34. ^ Woodrow, Ryan (February 20, 2024). "WWE 2K24 roster: every wrestler confirmed to be in the game". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  35. ^ Ross, Patrick (October 19, 2023). "Full 2023 PWI Women's 250 list revealed". Adventures In Poor Taste. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
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